Governor's Bowl dispute led to creation of New York High School Football Classic

Frank Ordoñez / The Post-StandardChristian Brothers Academy senior Macky MacPherson (50) pauses with his Upstate teammates during a Thursday morning practice in the Carrier Dome. The first New York High School Football Classic, pitting Upstate vs. Downstate, is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday in the Dome. This story was written by Contributing writer M.F. Piraino with additional reporting by staff writer Nolan Weidner

Syracuse, NY -- For George Mangicaro, the time for talk was over.

Over the years, Mangicaro and his fellow New York State Football Coaches Association members had tossed around the idea of having an in-state, senior all-star game. This year they took action.If you go . . .

• What: New York State High School Football Classic

• When: 3 p.m. Sunday

• Where: Carrier Dome

• Tickets: $5 at the door

• Broadcast: Live on Time Warner Cable Sports 13

• Teams: The Downstate team of players from Section I (Rockland/Westchester counties), Section IX (Orange/Ulster Counties), Long Island and New York city’s public and catholic schools will square off against a team of players from the rest of the state, including the Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse areas.
• Major sponsors: Empower Federal Credit Union, The New York State High School Football Coaches Association, Time Warner, U.S. Army, ISP Sports, Under Armour

“We’ve always wanted to have an Upstate-Downstate game.” said Mangicaro, director of athletics at Liverpool High School and the event’s coordinator. “We knew we could pull this together if we could get the funding.”

With a financial boost from the Empower Federal Credit Union, the inaugural New York State High School Football Classic will kick off at 3 p.m. Sunday in the Carrier Dome on the Syracuse University campus.

The game pits all-star teams from Upstate and Downstate. It will offer SU fans a glimpse at some incoming talent, including quarterback John Kinder of Long Island and Downstate teammates Malcolm Cater (linebacker), Steven Rene (receiver) and Robert Tierney-Welsh (defensive line). On the Upstate team, Orange fans will see Macky MacPherson, grandson of former SU coach Dick MacPherson and an incoming SU offensive lineman from Christian Brothers Academy.

“We are very excited about this game,” said retired Fairport coach Don Santini, one of the Upstate team assistants and a founder of the state coaches association. “Members of our state coaches committee have been talking about doing an in-state, all-star game for years because we have not been happy with the Governor’s Bowl.”

New York coaches decided to walk out on that annual game against New Jersey all-stars, Mangicaro said, when new leadership within the New Jersey coaches association wanted more control over the Governor’s Bowl.

Downstate team head coach Joe Vito, of Long Island’s Roosevelt High School, said the New Jersey coaches insisted that the Governor’s Bowl be held at Rutgers each year, rather than playing at a New York site every other year or even once every couple of years.